Move On

Summary: One-shot. Jason is with Piper now. And after a conversation with herself and her co-praetor, Reyna is learning to accept that. Not a Reyna/Percy, just friendship. R&R!

Word Count (I don't usually do this but for some reason I feel like telling you): 1,958 [SHORTNESS]

Did she ever like him?

Yes.

Did she ever like-like him?

Unlikely, but perhaps.

Did she ever love him? Love him like that?

She didn't think so.

So why did she feel so broken inside when he told her he had a girlfriend now? He wasn't even dating her when he disappeared. Why did it feel that way?

He hadn't told her about Piper insensitively.

His memories were beginning to come back to him more quickly now that he was back home. Now he remembered her and wouldn't want to hurt her. He had, so to speak, "let her down gently."

It wasn't jealousy she felt. Piper McLean was a beautiful, smart, brave daughter of Venus – er, Aphrodite. But she wasn't jealous of the girl. When she saw Piper with him, she wasn't angry.

Just…sad.

Was this what heartbreak felt like? Had he even had her heart to break in the first place?

Because maybe, just maybe, her heart had belonged to Jason all along and neither of them had ever even known it.

Reyna sighed.

It had to be past midnight now, so every member of the legion would be in the barracks, sleeping. All of the Greeks – including Jason and excluding Percy – were resting on the Argo II. The seven demigods of the prophecy would be leaving for the Greek camp on Long Island soon, and then they would be off to Rome, leaving Reyna to lead Camp Jupiter alone once again. Octavian undoubtedly would not cease to attempt praetorship. No, she would be sure to leave the job with Percy, even if he was off on a quest.

But as she sat leaning against the front of her praetor house, staring up at the stars, she didn't think about those things.

All she really thought about was Jason.

Jason, Jason, Jason. Son of Jupiter, the only one they knew of at that. The boy that Juno had whisked away in the blink of an eye. The boy who was separated from his home for eight months with no memories whatsoever. And now he had found a home with them. The Greeks. The people Romans were taught to kill on sight.

But, obviously, they couldn't. Not when Jason was with them.

Jason Grace.

She was beginning to realize that he was…everything.

The wind beneath her wings. Her rock. Her strength. Her motivation. Her inspiration. Jason Grace.

He'd be leaving on a quest tomorrow. Gone as soon as he'd come.

And for the first time in eight months, Reyna cried.

She had cried in private when she found out Jason had disappeared, but never did she imagine herself shedding any tears but tears of happiness when he came back.

At first she felt ashamed of herself. She was a daughter of Bellona. The Queen of the Amazons' sister. She didn't cry. She wasn't weak –

Screw her reputation. She wanted to cry and she was going to cry.

And so she pulled her knees up to her chin and let the tears flow freely. The night breeze blew and she parted her lips slightly, making no effort to shelter herself from the chill.

She put her head between her knees and sobbed.

She sobbed.

Not Reyna, the fearless daughter of the Roman war goddess, the sister of the famed Hylla, the girl who led Camp Jupiter with no one by her side for eight months, the girl who had been kidnapped by pirates once, was taken from her home, and was tortured, beaten, forced to work, even raped.

No.

No, the girl sobbing was Reyna, who had lost her everything and still felt like nothing when she found it.

The wind blew again and she wrapped her arms around her legs tightly. Her butt was getting sore from sitting on the stone floor of the entrance to the praetor house, but she didn't care. She sniffled and closed her eyes, her wet cheeks and her nose tinted pink. Breathe in, breathe out. The tears slowed, and she kept her eyes closed, breathing shallowly.

"Hey." The voice was masculine and soft.

Reyna's head jerked up and she glared at whatever was in her line of vision, on instinct. Then she saw who had just sat down next to her, and she furiously swiped at her eyes and wiped away as many tears as she could in half a second.

"Whoa," Percy whispered, grabbing her wrists. "It's okay, it's just me…Gods, how long have you been out here?"

She had to be honest with him. She owed him that much. "Si-since the senate meeting was dismissed." She looked into her fellow praetor's green eyes and saw worry, concern, and alarm. Classic Percy Jackson.

"Jeez, Rey. And how long have you been crying?"

Her eye twitched when he called her Rey. That was what Jason called her. But Percy didn't know that. She shrugged and looked away from him, changing the subject abruptly. "What're you doing here, anyway?"

She peeked over to see him shrug. "Couldn't sleep. Took a walk and saw somebody sitting here, so I came to check it out. Come on, it's getting cold…" He glared up at the night sky. "What the heck, Zeus? It's supposed to be summer!"

Percy stood up and offered her his hand. She took it gratefully and stood as well, brushing herself off. He led her inside and once she spotted her bed, washed in the silver moonlight, she immediately flung herself down onto it and lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

Percy switched the light on and shut the door behind him, then came over and sat on the edge of her bed. "so," he started, looking at his reflection in the mirror on the wall briefly, "care to tell me why you were crying?"

"No, I do not."

"Too bad. I'll get answers out of you one way or another."

She smirked, enjoying how easy it was to talk to him. He was rather handsome, she noticed as she studied him. Black hair and tan skin. Clear, attractive green eyes. A strong nose and a firm jawline. A Greco-Roman.

Well that explains the stares he gets from every female that happens to see him, Reyna mused.

"One way or another?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," he replied, feigning seriousness. "I intend to tickle you if necessary."

"You wouldn't."

"May I ask why you're so sure of that?"

"Because I'd tell Annabeth and she'd count it as flirting and kill both of us."

Percy laughed, and she couldn't believe she'd only known him for two weeks. It was like they were old friends. "I don't understand why that woman gets jealous so often."

"I do," she mumbled. Luckily Percy didn't catch it – or he just didn't push her to elaborate. She guessed the latter as she flopped down onto his back next to her. Normally she'd be uncomfortable having a boy this close, casually laying on her bed next to her, but something about Percy was different, like he was an exception.

"Ready to spill?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I guess I don't have a choice."

"Darn right." He turned his head to the side to face her and cracked a smile.

"I'm just…confused." She felt hot tears prickling in her eyes again.

Percy gently took her hand in his warm, calloused one. "Confused about…" he prompted.

Reyna's voice cracked as she spoke the name. "Jason," she whispered hoarsely.

"Ah," Percy nodded knowingly as if she had already poured out her feelings to him.

She pursed her lips. You act like you already know what I'm going to say, graecus."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I do."

Brown met green and she narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, really? Well, care to share?"

"You're confused about your feelings for Jason. You're not sure if you ever liked him in, you know, that way. When you found out he was with Piper, you were upset. Heartbroken, for lack of a better word. Now you're starting to wonder if you ever thought of him as more than a friend."

Her eye twitched again, but this time because Percy's assumption had been so. Freaking. Accurate.

"How…" This was one of the rare moments where Reyna was at a loss for words. And this was a conversation with Percy, the one Annabeth called "Seaweed Brain."

He shrugged. "I've been told I can read emotions well."

"Well, whoever told you that wasn't lying," she grumbled.

Percy grinned, and Reyna looked away from him after a second, feeling overwhelmed with emotions. "I think…I think I loved him."

Percy turned her so she was facing him again, resting his hand on her shoulder. "I think you did too."

"Now that he left me and it's obvious that he's crazy in love with Piper, I feel like…like I'll never love again. I know it sounds stupid and –"

Percy cut her off. "It's not stupid, Rey. Your heart is broken. There's nothing stupid about that."

She was about to protest but he cut her off again, speaking more sternly this time.

"It's not stupid, Reyna." He gave her a pointed look and she gave in.

"Whatever."

"Uh-huh."

She rested her head on his shoulder and he put his head on top of hers. "If you're ever going to get over him, you need to move on. Now."

"When you say move on…"

"I mean just let it go. Forget that you loved him at one point because you don't anymore. He never knew that anyway. Don't let your past feelings jeopardize your friendship with him now, you know? He sees you as a sister, I can tell."

She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Ugh, you're like my conscience. I hate you, Percy Jackson."

"I know. Love you too."

There was silence for a while, but it was comfortable, not heavy. They just sat quietly, Reyna thinking and Percy trying to guess what she was thinking. This went on for who-knows-how-long.

Finally, Reyna whispered, "Thank you, Percy. I think I know what I should do now." She looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

"And what would that be?"

"I'm going to move on."

"Hades yeah you are."

He smiled down at her and she noticed how tired he looked. It had to be past one thirty in the morning by now, and she realized she had kept him up longer than either of them had intended.

"Dear lord, Percy, you look terrible!"

"Thanks. You look pretty as ever." Percy rolled his eyes.

Reyna shook her head. "Go get some sleep. You need rest! You're leaving for New York tomorrow!"

"Oh yeah." Percy frowned. "Jason won't let me give him his job back, so it looks like I'm going to lead the camp from long-distance."

Reyna nodded. "Don't worry about me. I won't let Octavian anywhere near me or either of our praetorships."

"Good," Percy said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "If that guy lays one finger on you I'll sail all the way back here and kick his butt."

"You know I can kick his butt without your help."

"Of course. I just want a good excuse for beating him up."

They both laughed.

Then Percy glanced down at his watch and said, "Well, I should get going." He got up from her bed and she made herself comfortable.

"Good night, Reyna."

"Good night, Percy."

She closed her eyes and felt a soft pair of lips touch her forehead. Then she heard the click of the light being turned off and Percy shut the door.

As she drifted off to sleep – a typical slumber filled with demigod nightmares of Octavian killing Percy and Jason – one thought floated through her head:

I'm going to move on.

A/N: Okay, DEFINITELY NOT my best work! I don't know Reyna's character very well. Hehe. Please don't throw Iris' cupcake stimulations at me!

*ducks and runs away from flying cupcake stimulations* Wow, thanks. -_-

Reasons I wrote this (it took me like 10-15 minutes lol):

-Jasper shipper, yep. Piper's cool and I don't understand the hate.

-When I picture Reyna's reaction to Jasper, I don't think she's mad at Jason. She's not jealous of Piper either. I picture Piper as more of the jealous type rather than Reyna, y'know?

-Percy's an awesome friend and he's so chill and gives good advice and I love him so so so mooch :D

And in case you didn't read the summary: THIS IS NOT A PERCY/REYNA OR PERNA OR REYCY (lol racy :P) OR WHATEVER THEIR MASHUP NAME IS OKAY LOL. I DON'T SHIP THEM! I SHIP PERCABETH ALL THE WAY! WOOHOO! WHO CARES IF IT'S PREDICTABLE? THEY'RE FREAKING MADE FOR EACH OTHER!

Okay, yeah, that's all. I promise that this is NOT my best work. See, another reason I need MoA is to get to know Reyna better! Do you think we'll learn Reyna and Octavian's last names? All the other campers at Camp Jupiter's last names? O.O

REVIEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! But you don't hafta if you don't wanna. This oneshot sucked lol. :D :D :D

P.S. Sorry for any major typos! I'm kinda in a hurry D:

P.P.S. REVIEW!